Claire Piganiol studied pedal harp and recorder in the Conservatoire de la Vallée de Chevreuse near Paris (France), where she also discovered historical harps during a course. Her fascination for these nowadays little-played instruments led her to musical studies in Milano, Toulouse and Basel, where she obtained a Master in early harps in 2012 and a Master in music pedagogy in 2016.
A Master in instruments from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance directed by Kees Boeke at the Musikhochschule Trossingen allowed her to delve deeper in these repertoires; besides, academic studies in history and in musicology (Maîtrise in Université Paris-Sorbonne, France) gave her the opportunity to start research work on the iconography, organology and playing techniques of her instruments.
Claire participates in several ensembles in France and abroad: ensembles Gilles Binchois, Le Miroir de Musique, Tetraktys, Le Parlement de Musique, Akadêmia, Millenium Orchestra, Kesselberg…
She has performed at various venues, such as festivals Oude Muziek Utrecht, Laus Polyphoniae Antwerpen, Festival de Beaune, Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Wunderkammer Trieste, Festival de Davos, Festtage Basel, Musiksommer am Zürichsee; the Opera of Lille, Luzerner Theater, Semperoper Dresden ; castle of Versailles, Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris or the Einsiedeln monastery.
She teaches Medieval and Renaissance harp at Schola Cantorum Basel (Switzerland) and recorder at the music schools of Cham (Zug, Switzerland) and Surbtal (Aargau, Switzerland). Wishing to make early instruments and repertoires more easily available to present-day audiences and musicians, amateurs and professionals alike, she regularly teaches courses and workshops. She is a faculty member of the International Course on Medieval Music Performance in Besalú, Spain, and of the Historical harps workshop in Rangendingen, Germany.